


A Nightmare

by Kasan_Soulblade



Series: Of Shattered Glass/These Warped Perspectives [11]
Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Differing parent styles, F/M, Nightmares and children, Spoilers, endgame spoilers, soothing nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-12
Updated: 2014-03-12
Packaged: 2018-01-15 12:31:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1304974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasan_Soulblade/pseuds/Kasan_Soulblade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A "What Came After: Crimson Arch" piece. AKA a part of the "Double Edged Sword" story that wouldn't fit in the original fanfic. Thus it exists alone but is related.</p><p>Because when his son called him he would come.  No matter what.  A nightmare, a conversation after, and allusions of things that might be.  The ending seemed mad, nonsensical, and wouldn't happen, not like that, not ever.</p><p>Because his son would not fight.  Kratos was more than capable and would fight each and every battle if need be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Nightmare

 

Nightmare

 

 

"Daddy, Daddy!"

Anna moaned her hands wrapped around his waist, kept him from standing. Her nails dug in as he tried to squirm free, she held him to her.

"Is' said we're supposed to wait this out. I know it's hard but I trust Is' on this, they've had to do it three times already, so stay here."

"Daaaaadddy!"

Kratos shivered, had stirred enough that the half open window revealed his expression. Torn and torture, wanting to be there not here...

"Kratos, lay back down, just tone it out and…"

"Daddy!"

"I… I can't. I can not _not_ answer him like this." Kratos began to fumble in the dark for his clothes.

"That's the problem; you have to harden your heart about this beloved. He has to be able to be by himself for the night."

"He's screaming for me!" Kratos protested.

"Kratos, I you keep doing this he's not going to learn..." She sighed. "Fine, go… I can't win against you anyways. You'll figure it out, hopefully before he turns ten."

Anna got no answer; Kratos was already out the door.

Xxx

"What's wrong _Lloyden_?" Kratos murmured, he was little more than a talking shadow in the dark, as he had forgotten to bring a candle, but Lloyd turned to him never mind what he looked like. The boy gulped, tears still running down his face, the physical manifestation of the terrors from the nightmare no doubt.

"A monsta' und' the bed!"

Lloyd pointed at the bed.

Kratos sighed, wasn't it always a monster? This had been the third time in so many nights sine Lloyd had recovered from Kvar's tortures, but instead of talking of what had happened he would always point to the bed and claim there was a monster. Kratos got down on his hands and knees, and looked as he always did. His search uncovered the usual sinister evil dust bunnies of doom. Or rather they would be Syt's doom if Issia ever figured that he swept everything under the bed and rugs.

"Son, there is nothing under the bed."

"You don't believe me!" Lloyd pouted. "Daddy there is a monsta' there really is!"

Kratos sat cross legged on the floor, looked up at his boy that was staring at him in a mix of pain and hope.

"What does the monster look like Lloyd?" Kratos asked at last.

"It's really big, bigger then you and it is made of shiny blue sharp stuff, and has funny wings and claws and teeth and…."

This wasn't the shadowy monster under the bed he was used to hearing about. He frowned and spared the underside of the bed another glance. The dust bunnies stared back, as much as they could. Lloyd had seen no creatures to resemble the enigma beast he was describing, there were no monsters Kratos had even heard of that fit the disruption Lloyd was giving him.

"Was this a head monster or a monster someone told you about?"

Because if Syt was again spreading tales it would be the last time he did so in a very long time.

"It wasn't a dream!" Lloyd paused. "kinda was and wasn't…"

"Tell me about it." Kratos beckoned and Lloyd hesitantly came down from his perch of the bed to crawl into his father's lap. "Tell me about the dream part."

"There was this huge huge monster…" Lloyd stretched his arms out wide to show how huge it was. "and a lot of other people I didn't know and we were fighting it! But it hurt me really bad with its claws and teeth and it was so scary I work up."

"Lloyd," Kratos held his son to his chest, savored the sounds of his toddler drawing breath. "I will never ask you to fight, ever, I will fight for you. You know that."

"I had to it was impurtotrants! And you were fighting too with a pretty red sword!" Lloyd chirped, fear forgotten though the underside of the bed was so close. "That was really neat, cuz there were these sparkly things…" Lloyd lifted Kratos' cloak. "You don't have spark-a-lies now, but they were right here!" Lloyd poked his back.

Kratos stared at his son, worried, for those could only be his wings he was describing.

While part of him wondered where Lloyd had gotten this idea of a monster, another part worried how his boy had seen his wings. Kratos was cautious almost to the level of paranoia about keeping his wings hidden from his son. They’d lead to questions he couldn’t answer, daren’t answer, not until his child was wiser and wearier to the whiles of the world.

"Lloyden," Kratos smoothed his boy's hair down, a small frown curling the edges of his lips down. "I promise that you'll never have to fight that monster or any monster, ever. So if that dream ever comes back you tell it I said."

Lloyd giggled. "You can't tell a dream something Daddy..."

Kratos bit his lip, restrained himself on starting on a lecture that with enough discipline and will you could suppress, banish, or alter dreams.

As Anna would say, too much information.

"Just try it next time, you might be surprised."

"You're silly Daddy!" Lloyd giggled, and Kratos chuckled in response. His boy's good humor dimmed his worry for a bit.

"Perhaps..." Lloyd squeaked when Kratos easily lifted him and put him on the bed. "Or perhaps I am right."

Lloyd only stuck out his tongue and the Seraph chuckled, lightly rapped his son on the head with his knuckle.

"Tongue in mouth young man, you are not a dog."

"Noshy does it!"

"Well Noshy- er No _ishe_ currently is a dog, when he is older not I will likely have to scold him for sticking his tongue out."

Lloyd laughed at that and Kratos picked himself off of the floor. Once standing he waited, arms crossed and favoring his son with a look. With a sigh the child slipped under the covers, grumbling how it wasn’t cold. Unable to tell Kratos considered the source and figured even if it were a little warm the boy’d not suffer overmuch from a touch of warmth. When the boy stilled his squirming Kratos tucked his son in. A parting kiss and hair ruffle and both were set to go.

"Good night Lloyden."

"But I'm not..." There was a yawn. "I'm not slee-"

"Indeed." Kratos rose an eyebrow and chuckled softly as his boy with a muttered “'naw sleepmmm” fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Lloyden is a anglicized version of Lloyd's name and since Kratos is the father and dictates the life of his son per ancient custom his name for the child is actually the hero's real name. More on why and what it means in another fic but for now this note should do.


End file.
